Ars System Guide: June 2007

Looking to upgrade your system? The June edition of the Ars System Guide …

Hot Rod

Motherboard

Asus P5B Deluxe

Architecture refreshes by AMD may change the CPU of choice in the Hot Rod later this year, but for now the Intel Core 2 Duo remains the processor of choice. Performance and power consumption are excellent, and pricing continues to get lower and lower as both Intel and AMD fight for market share. The release of Intel P35 (Bearlake) chipset boards offer better overclocking and more extensive Crossfire support, but their higher power consumption makes difficult to recommend in light of the excellent overclocking offered by best-of-breed P965 boards such as the P5B Deluxe and Gigabyte GA965P-DS3.

AMD's price drops to match Intel's Core 2 Duo still keep them as a serious competitor. A Socket AM2 Athlon64 X2 is an excellent value, particularly when paired with a motherboard such as the Abit KN9-SLI or DFI LanParty series.

Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Retail

Revised Athlon 64 processors under AMD's new 65nm process failed to unseat Intel's Core 2 Duo as the processor of choice in the Hot Rod, as Core 2 Duo's superior performance and cool operation hold their ground against AMD. The next architecture refresh from AMD should change the situation, but until then, Core 2 Duo remains the choice in the Hot Rod.

The low-end E4300 may be the better value for overclockers, but the E6420 is currently very close in price and offers a higher default clock speed with double the cache for non-overclockers, making it the processor of choice in the Hot Rod. Fast processors such as the E6600 and E6750 offer certain advantages in clock speed for non-overclockers, but their value is not quite as good. The Core 2 Quad Q6600 is also dangerously close to becoming affordable for those who need as many CPU cores as they can throw threads at.

We go with the retail boxed version for the three-year warranty and the included heatsink and fan, which are actually quite good. Those searching for higher-performance aftermarket heatsinks have a bevy of choices, including the Thermalright Ultra-120 Xtreme, Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity, and Enzotech Ultra-X.

RAM

2GB PC6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM

Two gigabytes of memory has been the de facto recommendation for performance users for some time now; recent memory price drops ihave left memory alarmingly cheap, which may not last as DRAM makers begin to transition to DDR3. In the meantime, we take advantage of this price drop and go with 2GB, with the strong suggestion that those ready to jump to 64-bit operating systems should look at 4GB of DDR2-800 because it's absurdly affordable at the moment.

Those seeking the ultimate in overclocking should look for premium lines from Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston, and GeIL. We save a lot of money by not pushing for the last little bit of that overclock with more standard PC6400 memory, although if you can find it, a few extra dollars for slightly faster CAS4 memory does net some performance gains at stock speeds.

Be careful when choosing memory for your Core 2 Duo boards as some memory modules require more voltage than the standard 1.8v some motherboards supply, particularly among "enthusiast" modules. You'll have fewer headaches that way.

Video

NVIDIA Geforce 8800GTS 640MB

AMD's Radeon HD 2900XT appears to be a solid part to consider in the Hot Rod. It's balanced out by additional discounts on NVIDIA's 8800GTS 320MB and 640MB parts, which give it a tough fight in performance (especially in the 640MB flavor) and seems to beat the ATI part on power consumption. Compared to the 320MB version of the 8800GTS, the 640MB version boasts improved high-resolution performance that helps hold off competition from AMD's 2900XT.

Those who need less video card should continue to look at older DX9 parts, as the recently released DX10 mid-range parts look unimpressive, particularly given the dearth of DX10-enabled titles to take advantage of their capabilities. The ATI Radeon X1950 Pro and NVIDIA Geforce 7900GS are excellent choices in this area.

The eVGA Geforce 8800GTS has a 500mhz core clock and 640MB of memory clocked at 1600mhz effective, combined with the expected dual dual-link DVI outputs and the usual goodies.

Sound

Creative X-fi XtremeGamer

Hardware 3D acceleration and sound quality as good as the competition make the Creative X-fi the recommendation. Competing cards based on the Envy24PT, Envy24HT, and other chips are excellent in most regards, but none have the 3D surround acceleration abilities that can match the X-Fi cards from Creative. The Auzentech Xplosion 7.1 and the cheaper Chaintech AV-710 are both solid competitors for contention in the Hot Rod if the performance hit due to less sophisticated 3D sound support is acceptable.

Audio/Video forum members on Ars Technica are essentially split down the middle between the Creative cards such as the X-fi XtremeGamer and the non-Creative competition for the Hot Rod. A history of bloated drivers and other headaches with Creative cards make many reluctant to purchase them, but for hardware 3D sound acceleration, they are the only game in town.

Communications

Network card—none (on-board)

Onboard gigabit Ethernet works just fine. For those seeking wireless, gear is cheap and plentiful from most sources, and is even integrated onto some motherboards, such as the P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP.

Cost: n/a

Hard drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB

Given frequent rebates and sales on hard drives, keep an eye out for good deals; we have seen very good pricing on drives as large as 500GB dirt cheap after sales and rebates. With the unpredictability of sales and rebates, we choose not to consider them here, but as an end user, you should!

For ultimate performance, the 10,000rpm Western Digital Raptor is the drive to pick, and it finally has the capacity it needs to satisfy most users. Given that we do have to make some compromises in the Hot Rod, the Raptor's price premium is not quite justifiable in our minds when weighed against the benefits of a faster video card or more memory. However, the Raptor still warrants thinking about, particularly the somewhat more affordable versions.

SATA 3.0Gb/sec speeds and excellent performance describe the Hitachi T7K500 and smaller siblings and the Samsung Spinpoint T-series is the lowest-noise 3.5" drive around. The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 is available in 750GB and 1TB flavors, as is Seagate's Barracuda 7200.10 750GB for those who need the ultimate in capacity.

The Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB has a 16MB buffer and a 5-year warranty.

Optical drive

DVD±/CD-RW: Pioneer DVR-212D

One drive does pretty much everything, from CD and DVD reading to CD and DVD writing, plus DVD-RAM on quite a few models. DVD drives are cheap and affordable enough to buy two... especially if you need to do disc-to-disc copies. Fortunately, most people don't need to worry about this often enough to be worth the extra expense, however modest it may be. Quality burners from NEC, Pioneer (DVR-111, DVR-112), Sony, Samsung (SH-183L), Lite-On (LH-20A1S), and others make the choice easy by making all of your choices good ones.

The Pioneer DVR-212D is an excellent unit, much like the Lite-On LH-20A1P/LH-20A1S, Samsung SH-183L, and its competitors. It matches a SATA interface, 18x burn speeds on DVD media, 40x CD reads, and excellent performance reading scratched discs. The Pioneer DVR-112D with a PATA interface is otherwise identical in performance for those who need a PATA drive.

Case

Cooler Master Centurion 5

Plenty of choices exist for the Hot Rod builder. 120mm fans and damped hard disk mounts are now easy to find, such as the Antec Solo, Thermaltake Tsunami, Antec NSK6500, and several others are excellent choices. mnpctech is a well-known source of modified cases for those who need something custom.

For a quiet case, the Antec Solo is quite good, much like its bigger brother, the P180.

It's hard to go too wrong, and those who can justify lots of money on a chassis have lots of excellent choices. We stay conservative with the Cooler Master Centurion 5, which does the job well.

Power Supply

Sparkle/Forton-Source ATX-450PN 450W ATX12V 2.0

Reliable, reasonably quiet, and affordable. With this PSU and its somewhat less-powerful brethren, such as the Sparkle/Forton-Source ATX-400PN-B204, we can choose all three and still have quite a bit of expansion headroom for a future high-end video card upgrade.

Those seeking the lowest noise should look the Seasonic S12-430 or its competition from Enermax, Corsair, Antec, Zalman, Silverstone, and others, but the price premium for even lower noise becomes considerable. Very few Hot Rods should need more than 300W, so 450W is already more than enough power. Those who see SLI or Crossfire in their future shouldn't need more than the 450W provided here, assuming the +12v rail capacity is sufficient.

The Sparkle ATX-450PN has a 120mm fan for low noise, dual +12v rails with 18A and 18A respectively, and a MTBF of 100,000 hours at 25 degrees C. 450W is overkill, but the dual +12v rails at 18A/18A may not be quite so excessive anymore, with higher-end DX10-capable video cards sucking down even more power on the +12v rails than their predecessors.

Monitor

Acer AL2051W 20" LCD

Audio/Visual forum members have been big on LCDs for a long while, and prices have dropped considerably from just a few years ago. Response times and color reproduction have improved considerably from even a year ago, with 24-bit, 16.7 million color fast-response time units becoming very affordable. Additional multimedia features such as HDCP support for watching protected Blu-ray and HD-DVD content are also beginning to become more widespread.

Wide-gamut LCDs with LED or W-CCFL backlights are now becoming more widely available for those who can pay the premium, largely eliminating the last reasons for anyone to buy a CRT.

The Dell E207WFP is quite a steal for a 20" panel. Those who can afford more should look at units such as the NEC 20WMGX2, NEC LCD2070NX, Samsung 204B, or their competition. The selection today is varied enough that making a comprehensive recommendation in the guide is impossible. Those who demand more screen real estate can look at the HP LP2465, Samsung 244T, and other 24" panels. While we are a big fan of dual monitor setups in the Orbiting HQ, a larger single monitor makes more sense for gaming.

Speakers

Logitech Z-5300e

The Z-5300e does 5.1 sound fairly well, particularly for gamers. Those who want something a little different should also look at Altec Lansing, Klipsch, Cambridge Soundworks, and others; around this price, plenty of decent stuff can be found.

If we had to go with a nicer 2 or 2.1 setup we would switch our recommendation to the Swan Diva M200s or Altec Lansing FX6021.

Mouse

Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical

Buy what you like! We stick with the de facto two button + wheel recommendation, in this case a Microsoft, and leave the more-capable mice out of the recommendation for the moment.

Gamers should look at the Logitech G5 laser mouse, while those who want the top-of-the-line should look at the G7. The Microsoft IntelliMouse with the tilt wheel is worth considering for those who don't like the feel of Logitech mice. Don't forget about wireless mouse and keyboards combinations if you do shop for a wireless mouse.

Keyboard

Logitech Keyboard

If you like natural keyboards, the Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard is a favorite around the Ars Orbiting Headquarters. Older "click" models such as the IBM Model M are favorites for many, while some of us prefer quiet units such as Dell's QuietKey.

Keyboards are personal preference, so we pick a fairly safe conventional recommendation in the Guide, and you can pick and choose as you like from what you prefer—not necessarily what we prefer.

Total price: $1,521.28, not including shipping and handling (6/10/2007, no OS)

Recommended operating systems

Again, we're not quite ready to recommend Vista. As a result, we suggest you stick with Windows XP for the time being. If you want to live on the cutting edge, Vista will run very smoothly on this box; just be prepared for the possibility of minor issues with the drivers.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

64-bit extensions arrive to Windows XP. Take advantage of performance improvements with programs that support 64-bit instructions enabled on the Athlon 64, Opteron, Core 2 Duo, Xeon, and Pentium 4. When deciding between Windows XP in the (conventional) 32-bit and the newer x64 edition, keep in mind that hardware drivers for x64 edition are less mature and often slower as a result.

Windows XP Professional

Windows 2000 with a lot more glitz and a few improvements. Gaming support is further improved over Windows 2000, and while some quirks due to the high level of feature integration remain, XP Professional is a choice many want to make.

Linux

Any computer enthusiast worth his salt boots more than one OS. Normally, Linux is a wonderful choice for the Hot Rod: powerful, cool, and cheap. However, the combination of a new CPU and motherboard mean that you should make sure your favorite distro is fully supported.